Board of Supervisors Passes Supervisor Wiener’s LGBT Data Collection Legislation to Improve Support for LGBT Community

Posted on July 20, 2016

Legislation requires that City Departments and contractors collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity to improve services and develop policies to support LGBT community

San Francisco — (July 20, 2016) On Tuesday, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Supervisor Scott Wiener’s LGBT data collection legislation, which will improve support for the LGBT community. The ordinance requires City departments and contractors providing health care and social services to seek, collect, and analyze data concerning the sexual orientation and gender identity of the clients they serve. Clients have the right to not provide the data.

“For years we have heard stories about how programs and facilities could better serve our community, but so much evidence has been anecdotal,” said Supervisor Wiener, who published a piece on Huffington Post on the legislation. “This legislation will allow us to collect real data that can be analyzed to show us where our City departments and non-profits are succeeding, and where they need improvement in meeting the diverse and significant needs of the LGBT community. I want to thank my colleagues on the Board for their unanimous support of this important legislation which will truly change people’s lives.”

The legislation was a recommendation by the LGBT Aging Policy Task Force, which was created by Supervisor Wiener and Supervisor David Campos in 2012. The full report — Aging at the Golden Gate — can be viewed here.

The legislation applies to the San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco Department of Human Services, San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and their Families, San Francisco Department of Aging & Adult Services, Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. Departments or contractors will be required to collect data from all clients regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. The client has the option of not providing the information.

Within 24 months of the operative date of the legislation, each Department will submit a report to the City Administrator that includes analysis of this data and identifies all services and programs where LGBT people are underrepresented, along with a plan to make these services and programs more accessible to the LGBT community.